Creating a public tool to assess and promote transparency in global land deals : the experience of the Land Matrix

Abstract:

The Beta version of the Land Matrix (Land Matrix 2012) was launched in April 2012 as
a tool to promote public participation in building a constantly evolving database on
large-scale land deals, and making the data visible and understandable. The aim of
the Land Matrix partnership is to promote transparency and open data in decisionmaking
over land and investment, as a step towards greater accountability. Since its
launch, the Land Matrix has attracted a high degree of attention, and stirred some
controversy. It provides valuable lessons on the challenges and benefits of promoting
open data on practices that are often shrouded in secrecy. This paper critically
examines the ongoing efforts by the Land Matrix partnership to build a public tool to
promote greater transparency in decision-making over land and investment at a global
level. It intends to provoke discussion of the extent to which such a tool can
ultimately promote greater transparency and be a step towards greater accountability
and improved decision-making. It will present the Land Matrix and its value addition,
before detailing the challenges it encountered related to the measurement of the largescale
land acquisition phenomenon. It will then specify how it intends to address
these issues in order to establish a dynamic and participatory tool for open development